About Umicore

Reducing harmful vehicle emissions. Giving new life to used metals. Powering the cars of the future. As a global materials and technology group, we apply our specialist knowledge to offer materials and solutions that are essential to everyday life. We aim to be a clear world leader in materials for clean mobility and recycling and have turned our sustainability approach into an even greater competitive advantage. With ambitions like this, imagine what you could do?

About the research part of the PhD

Umicore has been, since its creation in 1991, one of the biggest materials technology companies in Belgium. Due to its compromise with a more sustainable future, a project has been funded to study and obtain, by theoretical approaches, Raman spectra for battery materials to ease their synthesis and recycling, lowering the environmental impact of this well-known materials in a world where, newest technologies which rely on them increase their use each year that passes.

What you will be doing

• You will work in the Materials Modelling section of the ALGC research group, in an international and environment, surrounded by young and dynamic researchers, in Brussels, the capital of Europe.
• You will have the chance to work in close collaboration with scientists from both Vrije Universiteit Brussels and Umicore, obtaining a high insight in academical and industrial perspectives.

Who we are looking for

• You have a background in modelling, especially focusing on DFT approaches on the field of theoretical chemistry.
• You have experience with periodic DFT, force field based computations, materials science, molecular dynamics, catalysis and/or electrochemistry are highly appreciated.
• You possess good technical writing skills and verbal communication skills in English.

What we offer

We offer a fully funded Ph.D. scholarship for 4 years (starting from now upon mutual agreement) from the Vrije Universiteit Brussels in collaboration with Umicore, supervised by Prof. Dr. Frederik Tielens, Professor in Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry at the VUB, Brussels Belgium.

Interested?

Applications should be sent to [email protected] with the subject: "Application for a Ph.D. UMICORE PROJECT". The application should include a CV, a cover letter describing why the candidate should be considered for this position, transcripts of the B.Sc. and M.Sc. courses and grades, and a list of two professors/advisors that have supervised the student in his/her B.Sc. and/or M.Sc. research project and are willing to provide a letter of recommendation.